Hannah and the Hitman

Chapter 25

25

JACK

“The only window of time you’re going to be able to take care of Turkleman is at the restaurant,” Dax said. He wasn’t happy with his words, only honest.

I shook my head, even though we’d gone over the possibilities for hours. We were in my kitchen and Dax was opening and closing my fridge door as if something might magically appear in there to eat. I didn’t cook and there wasn’t more than yogurt and some old leftovers.

“I can’t bail on Hannah at dinner for a third time.”

He looked over his shoulder at me. “Then take her with you.”

Pancake hopped up onto the counter and I set my hand on his head for a pet. “To a hit? Are you insane?”

He shut the door, finally, and turned my way. “It’s a restaurant, not a skyscraper rooftop. Besides, it would justify you being there besides murder. An alibi. Just another couple on a date.” Pancake started turning in circles, liking to get rubbed all over. Dax noticed and frowned. “Cats shouldn’t be on the counter.”

“This is Hannah. I can’t risk it having her anywhere near a job. And you’re well aware I don’t cook. You won’t get toxoplasmosis or tularemia or whatever it’s called.” Still, I picked up Pancake and set him on the floor. He walked off, tail high, like the snooty ass he was.

“She’ll be in a restaurant full of people.”

I sighed. I didn’t like the idea. Not one fucking bit.

“I’ll get him at the ball game later instead.”

“Don’t be stupid,” he countered. “There are cameras everywhere and thousands of witnesses.”

“Not in the can.”

“At a ball game? While the men’s bathrooms aren’t anywhere near as crowded as the women’s, have you ever gone into one at a sporting event and been alone while taking a piss? I wonder what the average beer consumption is at a baseball game.”

He was not helping, only shooting down any option that didn’t involve Hannah.

“We’ve gone over the options. Nitro shared his schedule and since you saved it to the last minute, this is all you’ve got.”

Meaning I didn’t take care of this before now when I had better opportunities because I had my head up my ass over Hannah. And my fingers in her pussy.

“I’ll run him off the road.”

He shook his head. “Not guaranteed we can make it happen or that he’ll actually die.”

“I– ”

He held up his hand to stop me. “We’ve been through it. It has to be at the restaurant.”

I looked up at the ceiling, knowing he was right. If I wanted Sal to stop putting trackers on my car and butting in where his nose didn’t belong, I had to get Turkleman dead, and the only place was at the restaurant. “Fuck!”